It's quite remarkable how the hawthorn (May flower) managed to be in full flower during April. I believe the old saying that goes, Ne'er cast a clout, 'till May is out, refers to the May flower and not the month, because it responds to warm weather. Also the bluebells are going to seed already and it's only the start of May. The lack of rain over the past two months, the very warm weather and the recent stiff breezes have left everything very dry and the spate of forest and grass fires that are usually seen in late summer have already started. It looks like being a busy year for the local fire service.

Come along to this FREE training course and find out more about these secretive creatures and learn how to find out if water voles are present on a water course near to you. This course have been designed to give members of the public a knowledge of the ecology of water voles and to provide an introduction to the skills required to identify the presence of water voles.

All the courses will involve an indoor classroom session in the morning and a site visit in the afternoon. Bring your lunch and waders or wellies.

For more information and to book a place contact Chris Jackson at the Nottinghamshire Biodiversity Action Group - 0115 977 4213

The first frog spawn of the year has appeared in my pond overnight! Ten days earlier than last year, but I don't have as many frogs as in previous years. There are only about a dozen and there are usually 4 times that many, though there's time yet.

No spawn in my pond yet and I've only seen one lonely frog, which can't do much on its own. I haven't even heard any croaking yet either so I'm hoping it's just the weather that's putting them off. There has been a decline in my pond since the winter of 2010, when we found a lot of dead frogs and we've only had a dozen or so for the last couple of years, which is a quarter of what we used to get.